Somewhere Only We Know
by WhatIKnew
Summary: Songfic. Obvious song spoiler for 2x17, but the plot speculation is just speculation. Kurt transfers back to McKinley and feels in limbo.


"I don't want to eat outside," Kurt whined, trying in vain to wrench his arm from Mercedes' tight grasp.

"I know," Mercedes shrugged. "You want to sit in the choir room and stare at your phone. But it's not happening. You need air. You need sun. You need to _put that phone away_." She reached out to grab it and Kurt only just dodged her hand, slipping the phone into his bag with a frown.

"He hasn't called," Kurt mumbled, averting his eyes from his friend's gaze. "Since Sunday."

"It's only Tuesday," Rachel offered as she caught up to them just in front of the bleachers.

"It's already Tuesday," Kurt corrected. "I got a 'You'll be perfect,' text yesterday morning but that's it. This is the longest we've gone without talking since…well, since we met." He shook his head a little as that realization set in, laughing quietly at nothing in particular. He wondered if Blaine was staring absently at the wall in calculus like he always did, if David was trying to copy his notes. He felt strange in his jacket and skinny jeans, almost missing the stiff blazer and loose gray pants.

"Just have babies and get it over with," Mercedes rolled her eyes, checking her watch surreptitiously and nodding to Rachel, who shot a look at Finn and Sam, sitting nearby.

Kurt might've commented on this sudden secret agent game his friends seemed to be playing, but he had settled against the railing of the bleachers, twirling his phone idly in his hand as he stared at his feet. He didn't want to be that guy, the one that couldn't go a day without talking to his boyfriend. But he was; Blaine was making him that guy, and Blaine was definitely already that guy, so why hadn't he called? Where was he?

_I walked across__  
><em>_An empty land__  
><em>_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_

Kurt's head jerked up when he heard the familiar voice, wondering if he could already be going through withdrawal, and if that could mean hallucinating. He scanned the crowd, eyes sweeping across the crowd until they fell on a familiar blue blazer at the top of the bleachers. Blaine's smile widened when their eyes met and he gestured for Kurt to stay put.

Blaine took a step down and more blazers began filling the space behind him; Wes and David flanked him, and Kurt could see Jeff's blond hair emerging from the top of the stairs.

_I felt the earth beneath my feet__  
><em>_Sat by the river and it made me complete_

Blaine sat for a second, shooting Kurt a goofy grin before resuming his journey. Warblers kept emerging from the stairs until Kurt was sure the entire group was there, quietly harmonizing with smiles on their faces. It surprised Kurt; it wasn't that they'd taken the news of his transfer poorly so much as that they hadn't reacted much at all. For all of them to show up here…they blurred in his sight for a minute as his eyes burned, and he dragged the back of his hand quickly across them.

_Oh simple thing, where have you gone?_  
><em>I'm getting old and I need something to rely on<em>  
><em>So tell me when you're gonna let me in<em>  
><em>I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin<em>

Blaine reached him, then, reaching out and taking his hand because they did that, now, no matter where they were or who might be watching, disapproving. He pulled Kurt's hand and they descended the last few steps to the ground, looking up in surprise when the jazz band picked up on the melody as the Warblers filed down after them.

_I came across a fallen tree_  
><em>I felt the branches of it looking at me<em>  
><em>Is this the place we used to love?<em>  
><em>Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?<em>

Blaine gestured with his free hand at this, squeezing Kurt's with the other. The rest of the group began to form a loose circle around them and Kurt turned slowly to smile at them. Nick reached out with his fist and Kurt met it with his own and a playful roll of his eyes.

___Oh simple thing, where have you gone?_  
><em>I'm getting old and I need something to rely on<em>  
><em>So tell me when you're gonna let me in<em>  
><em>I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin <em>

Wes reached out and squeezed his shoulder, letting his hand linger as their voices raised, shutting out the din of the other students. David shot him a wink from over Blaine's left shoulder and Kurt suddenly found himself being pulled from Blaine's grasp and passed among the boys, pulled into hugs and turned in circles.

_And if you have a minute, why don't we go_  
><em>Talk about it somewhere only we know?<em>  
><em>This could be the end of everything<em>

Even through the chaos he could feel Blaine's eyes on him and he reached out blindly until he felt the familiar hand encircle his and pull him back to the middle of the group. He stared into bright hazel eyes as Blaine lowered his voice for a moment.

_So why don't we go somewhere only we know?__  
><em>_Somewhere only we know_

_Some…where_

Everyone joined in again and Kurt jumped at the new voices in the mix. Finn's head suddenly popped up behind David, and he slowly turned again to see the entirety of New Directions easing in between the Warblers, joining in the chorus. Wes slid an arm around Santana while Sam leaned on Jeff's shoulder, pulling Rachel in front of both of them. Mercedes smiled widely as she sang, reaching out and briefly touching his cheek.

He would've commented on the cliche of all of them standing in this circle, swaying just off beat, but Blaine's voice was soaring in his ears and everyone's eyes were trained on him in a way that told him he was safe, he was loved.

He was home.

Because that's what this was. Home was where you kept your heart, and these people - the ones who had been there from the beginning and the ones who had stepped in and kept him safe and taught him so much - they were where he kept his heart. They were home.

Blaine turned him again, taking both of his hands and pulling him close, trapping their arms between their chests as everyone faded out and he sang the last line softly.

_Somewhere only we know_

Kurt leaned forward, resting his forehead against Blaine's as his eyes closed, tears falling silently and with abandon down his cheeks.

"Hey," Blaine said quietly, rubbing their noses together once, twice before pulling back a little, kissing the tear tracks across his cheekbones.

"I love you," Kurt whispered. He could feel Blaine smile against his cheek and opened his eyes to meet the pair that had been home for a while now.

"Love you," Blaine grinned, pressing their lips together briefly.

"I love all of you," Kurt said, clearing his throat when his voice threatened to betray him. "I—" His eyes scanned over the blazers he had so desperately hated and now couldn't feel anything but longing toward, then the bright eyes of his brother, his best friend, and he couldn't say anything else.

"We'll miss you," Wes smiled, squeezing his shoulder again. "But you're not losing us, ya know."

"Welcome back," Rachel said, wrapping an arm around his waist. "You'll never get rid of us."

Kurt nodded furiously, letting himself be wrapped up in the countless arms descending around him.

Home.


End file.
